Grateful Dead

[mastaflatch]

like bugs said, it's really all about Jerry. so if you want to find Jerry Garcia Band (studio & live) albums, The Pizza Tapes album and the Old and In The Way (S/T) album, you'll hear a side of him that doesn't (necessarily) come thru when he played with The Dead.

woah, only reading that album's title takes me back in a major way...

I didn't know elliseamos liked the dead.

What a day this has been!

AL...

annie laid her head down
in the roses

i was being serious.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

What studio albums do you already have, Doc? I think most fans would probably agree that "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" would be the two to start with, studio-wise, though "Wake of the Flood" is great too. Honestly those are the only three of their true studio albums that hold up for me as totalities--there are dozens of great songs scattered throughout the other ones, and even some great studio versions, but generally speaking creating cohesive, well-developed studio albums was not the Dead's forte. Truth be told, if you have a few studio albums and can't get into more than a few songs off each, that's probably not all that dissimilar to a lot of Deadheads.

If you want a good hybrid of the two (studio and live), I would check out the original "Europe '72," a live album at heart but with some studio touch-ups on the vocals. It contains definitive versions of some of their best-crafted songs ("Jack Straw," "He's Gone," "Tennessee Jed," "Ramble On Rose," "Brown-Eyed Women") but also showcases some great extended improvisation. A second recommendation would be "Live/Dead," the Dead's first live album from 1969. Robert Christgau said it contained "the finest rock improvisation ever recorded" when it came out. They hadn't come into their own really as songwriters yet, but the instrumental interplay borders on telepathic in places. There are hundreds of live albums to get but both of those are well-known and revered canonical works, readily available at a good price, and in excellent sound quality.

As far as an all-time favorite from left field, I would nominate "Dicks Picks Volume 12," which I'm pretty sure is out of print but is well-worth eBaying if you find your interest stretching a little further.

i hardly ever listen to CDs anymore, so everything i have is collecting dust in the basement, and im at work now so looking at their discography and trying to remember what i had gotten through the years, im pretty sure i have American Beauty, Dead Set, What a Long Strange Trip its Been, Skeletons From The Closet, and im almost positive i had picked up Without a Net quite a ways back as well. i dont have anything on my Ipod at the moment so im probably gonna do some downloading tonight if i have some time.

ive always been a fan of the Hits which in most cases is never a real good indication of a bands overall catalog, but i really feel like this is a band that i will really get into if i just give them some real time instead of listening to an album once or twice and then putting it away for a while. i think i might dig out some of those CDs and see if i do have Without a Net and throw that in the CD changer in the car, then add some studio albums to my Ipod, and maybe check out some of the dicks picks you guys recommended. as far as bootlegs, im not a huge fan of live shows when you cant have the tracks flow seamlessly with out the gap or pause between songs, and im not sure how they will end up if i download them and add them to my ipod, and its been forever since ive had a CD burner to put them on a cdr, so i may hut for cheap ones that i can buy in music stores.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

like bugs said, it's really all about Jerry. so if you want to find Jerry Garcia Band (studio & live) albums, The Pizza Tapes album and the Old and In The Way (S/T) album, you'll hear a side of him that doesn't (necessarily) come thru when he played with The Dead.

i will have to look into those as well

[elliseamos]

as far as bootlegs, im not a huge fan of live shows when you cant have the tracks flow seamlessly with out the gap or pause between songs, and im not sure how they will end up if i download them and add them to my ipod, and its been forever since ive had a CD burner to put them on a cdr, so i may hut for cheap ones that i can buy in music stores.

yeah, streaming from the archive.org site will create gaps, but i'm pretty sure if you download a show from there it won't have gaps. do you bittorent? what i'm saying is there are plenty of shows online to download.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

as far as bootlegs, im not a huge fan of live shows when you cant have the tracks flow seamlessly with out the gap or pause between songs, and im not sure how they will end up if i download them and add them to my ipod, and its been forever since ive had a CD burner to put them on a cdr, so i may hut for cheap ones that i can buy in music stores.

yeah, streaming from the archive.org site will create gaps, but i'm pretty sure if you download a show from there it won't have gaps. do you bittorent? what i'm saying is there are plenty of shows online to download.

i usually download from what, and might try to find some recommended shows on there

[vegman]

The studio album most worth listening to, IMO, is Workingman's Dead. Great songs, musicianship and recording. If you're looking for specific live shows, go to the archive and check out the most downloaded list. Most of those are great. Also, go to the headyversion.com. They list what fans consider the best versions of individual songs played live. Then you can find them on the archive and stream.

Some of my favorite shows:

8/27/72- Veneta, Oregon.
5/2/70 - Binghampton
5/7/77- Cornell
9/10/91- MSG w/ Branford Marsalis

I could list forever.

[darth_vedder]

I don't know a heck of a lot about this band, but I generally like 'em when I hear them.

I love 'American Beauty', in particular "Friend of the Devil" and "Operator".

I'm also quite fond of 'Europe 72'.

That disco song of theirs, "Shakedown Street" is pretty fun too.

[elliseamos]

The studio album most worth listening to, IMO, is Workingman's Dead. Great songs, musicianship and recording. If you're looking for specific live shows, go to the archive and check out the most downloaded list. Most of those are great. Also, go to the headyversion.com. They list what fans consider the best versions of individual songs played live. Then you can find them on the archive and stream.

Some of my favorite shows:

8/27/72- Veneta, Oregon.
5/2/70 - Binghampton
5/7/77- Cornell
9/10/91- MSG w/ Branford Marsalis

I could list forever.

Two bootlegs that I've had on tape since forever (links to archive.org for d/l or stream):

5/8/77 - Cornell- pretty much the world over thinks it's THE show.

10/9/89 - Hampton, VA - The run they go on starting w/ Playin' in the Band has always reminded me why they were so beloved by people.

[vegman]

I don't know a heck of a lot about this band, but I generally like 'em when I hear them.

I love 'American Beauty', in particular "Friend of the Devil" and "Operator".

I'm also quite fond of 'Europe 72'.

That disco song of theirs, "Shakedown Street" is pretty fun too.

Europe '72 is fantastic.

[Kevin Davis]

My rankings of their (studio) albums (my highlight tracks noted):

Grateful Dead (Wharf Rat, The Other One, Not Fade Away/ Goin' Down the Road..., Playing in the Band, Me and My Uncle)

This is actually a live album--recorded at the Fillmore East, 1971.

Also surprised to see you ranking "Anthem of the Sun" so low--I love that one, pure psychedelic craziness. I would have included it among my "studio albums that hold up as totalities" but since it's as much live as it is studio I left it off (and made it a point to specify that I meant "true studio albums").

[vegman]

The studio album most worth listening to, IMO, is Workingman's Dead. Great songs, musicianship and recording. If you're looking for specific live shows, go to the archive and check out the most downloaded list. Most of those are great. Also, go to the headyversion.com. They list what fans consider the best versions of individual songs played live. Then you can find them on the archive and stream.

Some of my favorite shows:

8/27/72- Veneta, Oregon.
5/2/70 - Binghampton
5/7/77- Cornell
9/10/91- MSG w/ Branford Marsalis

I could list forever.

Two bootlegs that I've had on tape since forever (links to archive.org for d/l or stream):

5/8/77 - Cornell- pretty much the world over thinks it's THE show.

10/9/89 - Hampton, VA - The run they go on starting w/ Playin' in the Band has always reminded me why they were so beloved by people.

That Hampton show was unreal. The first time they had played Dark Star and Death Don't Have no Mercy in a long time. The shows were billed as The Warlocks, I guess as a joke by the band? The shows were spectacular and to this day I wish I had gone. I listen to that one a lot.

[elliseamos]

That Hampton show was unreal. The first time they had played Dark Star and Death Don't Have no Mercy in a long time. The shows were billed as The Warlocks, I guess as a joke by the band? The shows were spectacular and to this day I wish I had gone. I listen to that one a lot.

supposedly they listed themselves as The Warlocks to fool the venue authorities (?) who had banned them from playing VA b/c of previous shows.

This is actually a live album--recorded at the Fillmore East, 1971.

, i'm clearly a bit foggy on this topic, but I don't know of any other proper recording of these songs.

Also surprised to see you ranking "Anthem of the Sun" so low--I love that one, pure psychedelic craziness. I would have included it among my "studio albums that hold up as totalities" but since it's as much live as it is studio I left it off (and made it a point to specify that I meant "true studio albums").

other songs/albums just scratch my Dead itch more for me.

[vegman]

That Hampton show was unreal. The first time they had played Dark Star and Death Don't Have no Mercy in a long time. The shows were billed as The Warlocks, I guess as a joke by the band? The shows were spectacular and to this day I wish I had gone. I listen to that one a lot.

supposedly they listed themselves as The Warlocks to fool the venue authorities (?) who had banned them from playing VA b/c of previous shows.

Nice. I'd never heard about that.

[elliseamos]

That Hampton show was unreal. The first time they had played Dark Star and Death Don't Have no Mercy in a long time. The shows were billed as The Warlocks, I guess as a joke by the band? The shows were spectacular and to this day I wish I had gone. I listen to that one a lot.

supposedly they listed themselves as The Warlocks to fool the venue authorities (?) who had banned them from playing VA b/c of previous shows.

Nice. I'd never heard about that.

as the story goes:

Both nights were billed as "Formerly The Warlocks." It was a sneaky way for the DEAD to play at Hampton after crowds had caused so much trouble the previous few years and gotten the band banned from performing there.

[vegman]

Awesome that this thread's seeing some action during the days between.



Once we grew into our shoes
we told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
on promise of the glow
Stood upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we'll never know we'll never know

[elliseamos]

Awesome that this thread's seeing some action during the days between.



Once we grew into our shoes
we told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
on promise of the glow
Stood upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we'll never know we'll never know

i've been streaming 10/9/89 since i posted it. i love whenever they played dylan. that's a great album for folks to look up if they don't know of it/have it already:

[vegman]

Awesome that this thread's seeing some action during the days between.



Once we grew into our shoes
we told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
on promise of the glow
Stood upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we'll never know we'll never know

i've been streaming 10/9/89 since i posted it. i love whenever they played dylan. that's a great album for folks to look up if they don't know of it/have it already:

If you love that one, check out Postcards from the Hanging. It's a collection of the Dead playing Dylan compiled (i think) by David Lemieux, the Dead's archivist. It's an amazing collection.

[elliseamos]

If you love that one, check out Postcards from the Hanging. It's a collection of the Dead playing Dylan compiled (i think) by David Lemieux, the Dead's archivist. It's an amazing collection.

i saw that come up when i was looking for that album cover pic.

avoid the bob weir one, team.

[Kevin Davis]

This is actually a live album--recorded at the Fillmore East, 1971.

, i'm clearly a bit foggy on this topic, but I don't know of any other proper recording of these songs.

Some of the songs on that album and Europe 72 were never recorded in the studio. This site is a cool resource. http://whitegum.com/introjs.htm?/discogs.htm

[vegman]

If you love that one, check out Postcards from the Hanging. It's a collection of the Dead playing Dylan compiled (i think) by David Lemieux, the Dead's archivist. It's an amazing collection.

i saw that come up when i was looking for that album cover pic.

avoid the bob weir one, team.

Dude, no way. Desolation Row is awesome. Let's see you remember all those damn verses. Just ignore the short shorts and pink guitar.